The 107th edition of the Giro d’Italia cycling race starts today in the surroundings of Turin. Nairo Quintana, who is returning to the scene of the most prestigious companies after a protracted doping case, will not be missing. Some colleagues from the peloton have already made it quite clear to the Colombian that they don’t like to see him back.
The last race from the Grand Tours category that Quintana completed was the Tour de France 2022. There he also tested positive for the banned tramadol, lost the overall sixth place and his stable Arkéa Samsic terminated its cooperation with him.
The 2014 Giro winner and two-time Tour runner-up (2013, 2015) then completely disappeared from view. He missed last season, was out of contract, just training, and his career seemed to be coming to an end.
The Movistar team, in whose colors Quintana rode for eight years, gave him a helping hand. This year he jumped back into the racing carousel on the Around Colombia and Around Catalonia events.
But not everyone takes the return of the small Colombian with enthusiasm.
“He shouldn’t be racing at all,” Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour champion and long-time Ineos (formerly Team Sky) star, said on his podcast.
His teammate Luke Rowe went even further, calling Quintana a “little fu**ing rat”.
Right in the March race in Catalonia, Wout Poels from Bahrain Victorious got into a conflict with Quintana. “I was driving next to him when he suddenly elbowed me. We started arguing,” the Dutchman described.
“I asked him if he was on tramadol again. Then he started behaving quite aggressively,” continued Poels. “Maybe I overdid it, but he was stupid enough to take it straight during the Tour,” he added.
Quintana defended two years ago that he had never taken doping. He appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, but to no avail.
At the same time, in his case, it was not a substance that would support performance. The drug tramadol is used to relieve pain and causes drowsiness, dizziness or loss of attention. That is why it is dangerous for cyclists.
Two years ago, tramadol was not even among the banned substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), but the International Cycling Union (UCI) had it on its list.
Movistar team boss Eusebio Unzué called the doping case a combination of mistakes and offered Quintana a new chance. Although the Colombian did not finish the Tour of Catalonia race in March due to a collarbone injury, he managed to recover before the start of the Giro.
“I know I won’t be at my best now, but we will try with the team for stage wins and excitement in the mountain stages,” revealed Quintana at a press conference before his flight to Italy.
He responded to the criticism of some opponents by referring to the fable about the deaf frog, who persistently jumps out of the pit and goes after his own way, despite being discouraged by others. He spoke in general for the riders from Colombia.
“We are moving forward like a deaf frog. We are full of pride in who we are and where we come from. That fills me with joy. Some people don’t like us, but we are doing very nice things for our country,” he said.
At the Giro, the 34-year-old Quintana will be one of the six Colombians.
Josef Černý and Jan Hirt from Quick-Step are also present. Both Czechs already know what a partial triumph at the Giro tastes like: Černý won the stage in 2020, Hirt two years later.
In the absence of last year’s winner Primož Roglič or Jonas Vingegaard, the clear favorite is Tadej Pogačar from the UAE team. The 25-year-old Slovenian has not yet won the Giro in his career.
